


Detention Slips

by PekoIsBaby



Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Autistic Ishimaru Kiyotaka, But This Fic Isn't About Him, But it's not explicitly stated, Dork Owada Mondo, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Good?? At feelings??, Impossible I know, It's just my headcanon for him, Kaz is potentially stupider than Mondo, M/M, Minor Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham, Mondo's very sad, Owada Mondo Swears, Pre-Canon, Shocking Everyone, Taka being, That goes for every time I write Taka, and stupid, mostly stupid, they love each other so much guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PekoIsBaby/pseuds/PekoIsBaby
Summary: Mondo Owada didn't mean to fall in love with his best friend. He also didn't mean to be such a dumbass about it.
Relationships: Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo
Comments: 6
Kudos: 107





	Detention Slips

**Author's Note:**

> Someday I'll stop being obsessed with this ship, but it's Not Today 
> 
> Good ship good ship- 
> 
> Uhh spoilers for the entirety of Trigger Happy Havoc, but that's it. 
> 
> Trigger warnings: A lot of emotional turmoil on the part of Mr. Owada, self-hatred, and referenced character death. None of this is too major, but it is all important to the plot, so read with caution and stay safe. There's also the TINIEST sex joke because I'm incapable of Stopping. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Mondo Owada wasn’t great at science. He didn’t like it, it didn’t like him… it was a mutually detrimental relationship _._ Still, in his many years of taking it, he’d managed to learn a few things. For example, he knew about the scientific method. Ask a question, gather evidence, form a hypothesis, test it, blah, blah. Well, he’d spent some time asking questions (why is my best friend so pretty, why can’t I talk to him like a normal fucking person, why is Kazuichi still single), gathered evidence (a very careful and scientific process that had nothing to do with checking out his bro as he pretended to study), and, finally, formed a hypothesis that he was sure his teachers would be proud of:

Love sucked shit and shouldn’t exist.

Mondo had been at Hope’s Peak Academy for around half a year. He had been, all things considered, doing pretty good for himself. He’d made a fair amount of friends, he hadn’t gone to the vast majority of his classes, and he’d gained something of a reputation. He was cool and scary. He could work with cool and scary.

Then it had all gone to shit. Naturally.

There was a long and disgustingly cute story about how Mondo and Taka had become friends, but, frankly, Mondo didn’t feel like telling it. The highlights: Taka supervised Mondo’s detention, they’d got to talking, they found out that they sort of liked talking, blah, blah, match made in heaven. Point is, they’d started hanging out. Doing stupid stuff. Being friends.

And then Mondo got a little gay.

It wasn’t his fault! At all! He definitely hadn’t _meant_ to, but Taka was… well, he was Taka. And Mondo was stupid. Another day, he’d probably wax poetic on how Taka was the kindest, most honest, smartest, best-est person he’d probably ever met, and how listening to him talk about things that he was passionate about made Mondo believe in hope again, and all that other mushy dumb shit, but all of that was _thoroughly irrelevant to the study._ No matter how much fluff you pushed through, the conclusion was the same: Mondo was, maybe, a little bit, just barely, in love with Kiyotaka Ishimaru. The narc. The guy with a stick shoved so far up his ass he could probably taste it. Yes, Kazuichi, the Kiyotaka Ishimaru who confiscated your definitely-not-a-small-bomb a week ago. No, Mondo didn’t tell him about it. What- _no,_ they haven’t been dating for months, where’d- did Taka say that?

“Mondo!” Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Kazuichi Souda, pointy grin (how _did_ he eat?) flashing, called to him from across the bustling hallway of Hope’s Peak. On the one hand, Mondo definitely had a class that he would definitely be late for if he stopped. On the other hand, that was definitely a bonus.

Mondo moved through the crowd to his friend’s side, offering only a half-wave as greeting. Kazuichi looked nearly bursting with excitement (never a good sign).

“Glad to have you here, buddy! Listen, I’ve been thinking a lot about your… let’s call it a _predicament_ … and I’ve come to a conclusion!” Kazuichi stood up taller (he was still over a head shorter than Mondo, but he made up for it through sheer brightness of color scheme). “As your senior, it’s my responsibility to impart my wisdom upon your young, growing mind!”

“Why the fuck are you talking like that?”

Kazuichi groaned. “A’ight, fine, spoil my fun, whatever. I’m getting you a boyfriend.”

“I’d… I mean, yeah, that’d be great, but I don’t-”

“A-a-a, I’m doing the teaching. Alright, kiddo, listen up: the trick with girls-”

“I’m gay.” And he wasn’t _kiddo,_ Kazuichi was barely a year older than him.

“Semantics. The trick with girls is to be totally honest with them, right? You’re gonna wind up looking like an idiot, but at least your eyebrow boy will understand that you want to kiss him, like, half as much as he wants to kiss you.”

“One, you’re running out of good nicknames. Two, no.”

“Okay, fine. Two thirds as much.”

“Kazuichi…” Was this worth punching him in the very pointy teeth?

“Mondo, he’s obviously in love with you. It’s, like, actually painful to watch you dance around each other like this. Just suck it up, swallow your pride, and tell him. It’s really not that hard, I did it for, like, half of the year.”

“Right.”

“Right!”

“Not that hard.”

“Not in the slightest!” Kazuichi nodded approvingly, as though he had finally gotten somewhere.

“So, of course, you should have no problem doing it, right?”

Kazuichi nodded, giving a cheery thumbs up. “No problem whatsoever!”

“Huh. Hey, Gundham’s in… what class, right now?”

“He actually has a free period, so he’s probably either in his room or in the petting- wait.” Kazuichi narrowed his eyes. “Why do you ask?”

“Just wanted to know. I have this friend, and I think the two of them might have some things to discuss.”

Kazuichi stiffened. “You wouldn’t.”

“Maybe my friend needs to… tell him a few things?”

“You _wouldn’t._ ”

“Starting with how he’s really into the whole spooky look and ending with how he gets drunk and cries about how ‘Gundham never looks at me like he looks at his _hamsters-_ ’”

“Mondo Owada, I swear to god, I will put you in the _fucking ground,_ you absolute whore.”

“You couldn’t take me.”

“I sure as fuck could!”  Mondo really was incapable of making friends with volume control. Kazuichi was screaming so loud that Mondo anticipated the click of shoes against tile before he actually heard it.

“What’s going on? Is everythi- oh, hi Mondo!” Taka had come briskly walking down the hallway, slowing and brightening once he saw who it was. “Is something wrong?”

“Nah, bro, we’re cool.”

“We are _not_ cool,” countered Kazuichi. “We are the least cool.”

“Listen, I hate to bring an end to your conversation, but the bell rang nearly five minutes ago, and you should _really_ be in class right now!” Taka's voice was loud enough to echo through through the hallway (but, then, when wasn’t it?), and Mondo was aware of the other kids in the hall picking up the pace so as to avoid a lecture.

“Uh, actually, Taka, if you’ve got a second, Mondo has something really important he’d like to talk to you about!” Kazuichi practically shoved Mondo in front of him. Mondo wanted to bash his head in.

“Oh!” Taka brightened. “Well, Mondo, if it’s only going to be a moment, and you’re sure it can’t wait, I suppose I don’t mind. What seems to be the problem?”

Mondo glared at Kazuichi. “It’s just that Kazuichi’s got this guy… you’ve probably met him at the GSA, because he’s _clearly gay Kazuichi for the love of god-”_

“You don’t know that! Maybe one of his hamsters is gay and he’s a supportive hamster dad!”

“ _Kazuichi what the fuck does that mean?_ ”

“Mondo!” Taka nudged him. “No cursing in the halls!”

“Sorry, bro. Kazuichi, my dear friend, what in the ever-loving _heck_ does that mean?”

“Excuse me?” Mondo quieted at Taka’s raised hand (his actual raised hand, like they were in fucking class). “What does any of this have to do with me?”

“Uh.” Mondo hadn’t thought beyond ‘embarrass Kazuichi’. “Nothing?”

“Then I really think you should get to class! Come on, I’ll walk you.” Taka grabbed hold of Mondo’s hand and practically dragged him down the hall to his next class. God damnit. He was too cute.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming, no need to pull.”

“It is important that you miss no more of the class than you already have, and I worry that without my guidance you might end up running! Come along!”

Mondo humored Taka by staying in his English class. He didn’t think about verbs, or the differences between pronouns, or conjugating plural nouns, or whatever other bullshit (English was not his strong suit—no foreign language was, really). Instead, he focused on what Kazuichi said. It was true, Mondo was being a pussy. Taka was his best friend, his bro, his soulmate in literally every way that wasn’t the way he wanted it to be. If he didn’t like him back, he could just forget about it and they could go back to being friends.

Unless he couldn’t. Unless it made things awkward. Unless Taka finally left, finally looked up and saw that Mondo was a mistake, a danger, something so thoroughly unwelcome in a school environment. The exact thing that Taka had worked so hard to avoid. A health hazard. A rule-breaker. A coward. A killer.

Mondo froze, the scratches of pencils and droning of the teacher and whispers of students draining away as the thought entered his head.

Everything that Mondo touched turned to ash. He’d burnt every relationship that meant anything—by being too impulsive, too loud, too angry. And, of course, he’d killed the only person who he’d really given a shit about.

Taka didn’t deserve to follow in Daiya’s footsteps, did he? Surely, that wasn’t fair. Taka was wonderful, and smart, and kind, and funny, and so much more than Mondo ever could be. No matter how much he loved Taka, Mondo figured that he could do one kind thing for his friend and not let him turn to ash, too. _That_ was why he’d never tell him. Not because he was scared of rejection (although he was), but because he knew it would only end up hurting them both.

After all that, Mondo didn’t think he could stomach math. After all, he had it with Taka. And, anyway, as long as he kept the gang up and running and did his reports on that, he didn’t _really_ have to be in class, no matter what Taka said.

Still, he didn’t have the heart to leave the building. He’d probably go to his next class, so at least he wouldn’t be a total failure in Taka’s eyes. Instead, he just loitered in the halls, sitting with his back up against the wall and counting spots on the ceiling.

“Mondo?” Ah, fuck. Taka had, for the first time in history, actually managed to sneak up on someone. Mondo nearly jumped out of his skin, and then he just felt miserable. He tried so hard to avoid Taka for five minutes, but fate – or, he guessed, his dumb ass for crushing on the ultimate hall monitor – had other plans. It was frustrating. It was unfair.

“Hi, bro. Sorry about this.”

“It’s no trouble.” Taka sat next to him. “Do you want to go back to class?”

“No.”

“Alright,” Taka said carefully. “Do you need to go home?”

“No. I’m fine.” He _was_ fine. He was just overthinking things.

“Do you want me to leave you alone, or stay?”

Mondo sighed. “Both. Neither. I don’t know.”

“I think I’ll stay, if that’s alright with you.” Taka leaned against the wall, looking at Mondo with the little half-smile that had become so fucking precious. Mondo felt his face warm and his chest tighten. This wasn’t fair to Taka.

“No, bro, you’ve like… got class and shit, you’re gonna want to learn about… that math stuff…”

“I want to learn about being a good friend to you! I’m very optimistic on my chances of graduating top of my class in mathematics, so I figure I’ll expand my talents a little.” Taka turned to face him. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I…” Aw, hell. If he wanted someone to vent to, he definitely couldn’t have picked a better person (feelings aside). Maybe telling someone (well, someone that wasn’t Kazuichi Souda) wouldn’t be so terrible. “I’ve kinda got like… a monster crush on someone in my math class? God, that sounds fucking girly.”

“Mondo, I’m ashamed of you! The bonds we form with our fellow peers are certainly not _girly,_ they-”

“Nah, I got it. I’m just… it’s tough, y’know, because I’m, like… 100% sure he’s out of my league. And he’s great, right? Like, really, really great. And I can’t tell him that, because I’m nervous and shit. He just- it’s really hard to explain.”

“It’s hard, but it’s also kind of simple sometimes.” Taka smiled quickly. “I, uh, know people think love is complicated and tricky and confusing- and it is! It really, really is, but… but it’s also not. Love is feeling awkward and messy and wrong every day of your life, and then meeting someone who fits into all the gaps and makes you feel normal. Not even normal. Extraordinary. Love is finding someone that fills your holes, so to speak.” Mondo stifled a snort. “Not like _that,_ you absolute- I meant it in- stop _laughing_ at me.” He was bright pink.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make fun of you or anything. I just… maybe rephrase that one, bro.”

“I… love is finding someone who makes all the wrongness seem right. It’s taking awkwardness and finding beauty. Maybe, for you, that means a… ‘monster crush’, as you put it, and maybe for someone else it’s a friend, or a family member, or even a pet, but it’s still the same basic principle, you know?”

Yes, he did know. “When’d you get so poetic?”

“Right around the time I fell in love, I think.” Taka’s gaze flickered to the floor. “But, we’re, ah, in the same boat, as it were. He’s out of my league. He’s probably tired of me anyway.”

“Then he’s a fucking moron.”

Taka looked up, horrified. “Mondo, cursing!”

“Sorry! Sorry! But… Taka, who could ever be tired of you?”

Taka snorted. “I know how the school’s general population feels about me. It’s not exactly a secret. And it’s okay, really! I know that I’m doing something that’s worthwhile, and I’m ready to face whatever I need to if it means getting to that point. Still…”

“It’s isolating,” Mondo finished. “Even if your reputation helps you along, it’s still you vs. them.”

“Yes, exactly.” Taka sighed. “I’m lonely. That’s all. But I… I’m not lonely now. I’m never lonely with you.”

“I’m not lonely with you, either.” Mondo offered a glance and a smile before gluing his eyes to the opposite wall again. “I… you’re fuckin’ incredible, you know that?”

“Mondo.”

“I know, I know, no cursing, but you are.”

“No, it’s not… I wasn’t going to say anything about the cursing.”

“Oh.” Mondo turned to face him. “Uh… sorry to interrupt you, bro, what were you gonna say?”

“Something stupid, most likely,” Taka said, a note of sheepishness in his voice. “But… I’d still like to say it, if it’s alright with you.”

“’Course it is, dude! What’s up?”

“You’re pretty effing incredible, too. And I… I care about you a lot.”

“I care about you, too, bro.”

“No, not like…” Taka laughed, even as Mondo could see his eyes filling with tears. “Sorry, I just… this is harder than I thought it would be.”

“What is?”

“I’m going to say this once, and before I begin: If you respond with something dumb, I may never forgive you.” Taka’s voice was incredibly steady for someone who looked like he was sobbing, but that wasn’t really a surprise anymore. “Understood?”

“Uh… ominous, but yeah, sure.”

“Okay. Mondo Owada, I love you.”

Mondo blinked, sure he’d misheard. “Sorry?”

Taka sniffled, and wiped his face with an honest-to-god cloth handkerchief. “I love you. Very much. And I understand if you cannot put your feelings for this other man aside, or if you’re simply disinterested, but I needed to tell you anyway, because you have to know that you are worthy and deserving of love. It’s important to me that you understand that.”

_Brain. Brain, work. Say something. Don’t just sit there like an idiot, he’s going to fear the worst._

Luckily, Taka was blessed with a high patience and a low understanding of ordinary social cues, because he just sat there and waited for a response. Mondo finally found his voice. “Nice.” What?

Taka blinked. “What?”

“Fuck- I mean, shit- damn- I’m going to stop talking.” Mondo took a deep breath. “That was definitely not what I meant to say.”

“Okay, then, what _were_ you trying to say?”

“I was trying to say that… god damnit, Taka, I can’t put it into words right. I don’t… I’m not all smart and shit, like you.”

“No cursing.”

“Let me have this one. Uh… Taka. I. You. Yeah.”

“Mondo, you’re really going to have to break this one down for me, because that sounded like a bunch of nothing.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Gimme a minute, okay? I don’t do this shit. Ever. Without screaming.” Mondo looked up. “I’m not screaming, am I?”

“No.”

“Good.” Mondo nodded to himself. “Good. That’s a step above normal, so, I guess that’s a point for me?” This was stupid. Just say it. He literally just told you he loves you, that’s your cue to _reciprocate, god damnit_. “I sort of… maybe… love you a little bit, too.”

“A little bit?”

Mondo groaned. “Fine, Jesus. Really putting me on the spot here, Taka. A big bit. The biggest of bits.” He rolled his eyes, just to get himself looking away from Taka. “I love you a lot, okay? Don’t get all… mushy or whatever.”

Taka narrowed his eyes. “This isn’t sarcasm.”

“No.” 

“And it isn’t to spare my feelings?”

“Definitely not. But, Taka, are you, like… sure about this? Not that I don’t trust your judgement, but I’m kind of a bad influence.”

“On the contrary! Based on my emotional health since becoming your friend, I’m pretty sure you’re a very, very good influence on me.” Taka grinned, looking close to tears again. “And you love me.”

“Yeah.”

“You love me love me.”

“I love you love you,” Mondo confirmed, unable to fight off a smile. “And you love me love me, too, yeah?”

“I don’t think that’s enough ‘love you’s, but it’s a start, yes!”

Mondo half-laughed. “This is like… big, right?”

“I’d say so, yes.”

“I… my god. This is real.”

“This is real,” Taka replied happily. “As real as anything is, anyway. I’ve been reading a lot about how the entire world might just be a computer simulation, isn’t that funny? I’d prefer it not to be, ultimately, but it’s an interesting thought experiment.”

God, he loved him. “Shit, dude, this is a fucking disaster.” Those were words that should never be said with such a bright and happy tone, and yet…

“Why?”

Mondo sobered, thinking about the question. “Dunno. It’s just a really, really good thing, that I’m really, really happy about, and I don’t have a great track record with those.” Mondo scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. “Kinda have a habit of ruining all the good things that come my way.”

“Oh. I won’t let that happen.” Taka grinned. “I have a very good track record with beating the odds, you shouldn’t worry. Trust me, we’re going to have a happy ending.”

“Promise?” He’d meant it as a joke, but he sort of really wanted an answer.

“Of course!” Taka grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. “I’m choosing you, and you’re… well, at least, I hope you’re choosing me. As long as we never choose anything instead of each other, no one can take that away from us.”

Mondo snorted. “You’re, like, crazy smart. You know that, right?”

“Of course I do, Mondo! I worked for a long time to get this way.” Taka helped them both stand. “The bell’s about to ring. Do you want to go to your next class?”

Mondo sighed. “Are you going to?”

“Oh, certainly! As long as there’s no crisis to deal with, I’m obligated to go to the classes on my schedule.”

“Alright, fine. Yes, I’ll go to my class. But… Taka?”

“Yes, Mondo?” Taka looked up at him, bushy eyebrows raised in question.

Shit. “Uh, do you mind if I kiss you? It’s okay if not, I just figured I’d ask since we just did a whole thing, and I- I mean, I’d like to, but… yeah, I just thought. Yeah.”

The bell rang. Classroom doors opened around the two of them, but Mondo was pretty sure that he and Taka were the only people in the whole world that mattered.

That suspicion was fully confirmed when Taka stepped closer, stood on his tiptoes, and pressed his lips against Mondo’s.

He couldn’t hear the giggles and wolf-whistles of the other students. He couldn’t hear the bell ringing. None of it mattered, because Taka was here and real and alive and _actually fucking kissing him. Holy shit._ Mondo had to fight off a smile, because he was pretty sure that would mess something up.

Taka pulled away, looking at Mondo with something akin to wonder in his eyes. Awe. Love, maybe. For a few brief moments, the two of them stared at each other, unmoving. Unable to speak, afraid they might shatter the crystalline, perfect, shining moment that they’d found themselves in. Then, slowly, deliberately, and without breaking eye contact, Taka slipped two crisp sheets of paper from his pocket. Unfolding them carefully, he finally moved, stepping away to place them up against the wall and write on them.

“Uh… Taka? Whatcha… whatcha got there?”

“Oh! My apologies for not explaining!” Taka finished writing, capped his pen, and handed Mondo one of the pieces of paper. “Detention slips.”

“Detention s- for _what?_ ”

“Public displays of affection, of course! Kissing in the hallways is strictly prohibited by school guidelines. Mondo, if you’d have read the rulebook as I suggested, you’d know this.”

“You’re giving me detention for PDA? After you kissed me?”

“In fairness to both of us, you quite literally asked for it.” He looked up, suddenly nervous. “Unless I misinterpreted?”

“No! No, you didn’t, not at all, I definitely wanted… yeah.”

“Good! Then we’re both complicit.” Taka gazed at his own slip ruefully. “It’ll be a shame to break my otherwise perfect record, but I can’t say it wasn’t worth it.” He smiled. “Well! Have a good rest of your day, Mondo! I expect I’ll see you after school for detention. And, then, probably after detention, too, although I imagine that’ll be under different circumstances. Ta ta!”

_Ta ta?_ “Taka!”

“Don’t be late for class! You wouldn’t want to miss out on more learning than you already have!” Taka’s shouting faded as he disappeared into the crowd of people. Mondo was left with the detention slip in his hand, eyes widening as he stared at where Taka had just stood.

Oh, he was in deep shit. 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this entire fic specifically so I could fit in the ending 
> 
> I tried to definitively find out if PDA was against school rules in Japan, but even if it isn't Taka would probably still get him in trouble for it
> 
> Would canon Taka ever have brain cells when it comes to his own feelings?? Maybe, maybe not. But I think either way there's a huge difference between understanding love and being comfortable with your own experience of it, if that makes any sense?? Basically, Taka could write an essay on love, even if he isn't entirely sure how to show it all the time. Yes this is projection. Yes I am projecting onto Kiyotaka Ishimaru. What is your Point. 
> 
> Oh also sure hope neither of them ever choose anything over each other, like,, say,, their dumbass ego, or their desire to come off as strong,, sure hope nothing bad happens to their perfect happy ending,,,,,,,,,,, : )
> 
> A few gems from this fic's outline: 
> 
> "-Uhh Mondo doesn’t know how to talk to boys"
> 
> "-I should mention that this takes place during Those Two Years  
> -WAIT CAN I PUT SOUDA IN HERE THEN  
> -LIKE AS MONDO’S WINGMAN  
> -ACTUALLY FUCK “can I” I’M GOING TO."
> 
> "-And Souda’s like “Uh Actually Mondo Has Something He’d Like To Talk To You About”  
> -And Mondo’s like “uhhh yeah it’s about how Souda’s a gay BITCH”  
> -And Souda’s like “:0 You whore!!! Take that back!”" 
> 
> As you can see, I am a very serious writer and I work incredibly hard to make sure that each piece is well-plotted and formatted before beginning. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! :D


End file.
